Tag Archives: glow

Picture it….you’re wrapped up in your sleeping bag, out in the wilds od Alaska, Oregon, oe what-have-you….your upper body is nice and snug and warm, but darn it, can you get your tootsies warm? Like hell you can, as John Wayne would say!

I’m sure you’ve been in that position many times when trying to get a decent night’s sleep after a hike. I usually find that adding extra blankets or coverings over the bag, or even inside it, ends up making you feel too hot…..result? The same as before…no sleep!

Having experimented with different sleeping methods over the many years I’ve been hiking, I found very few sleeping bags that can accommodate me and my cold-feet problems.

One of those bags was given to me as a birthday present and was used for many years, until it finally gave out through natural wear and tear…I don’t even recall what the make was or where it was bought.

Anyway, I recently bought a 2nd back up bag for myself…..what do you need a back-up bag for, I hear you say? Well, with the rigors of dirt and dust, there comes a time when you have to wash your bag out, in which case you’re gonna need another one! That’s why I paid a visit to my local MEC store.

There I was regaled by a very knowledgeable salesperson about all the bags within my budget and for my type of hike. I finally settled on the Mirage sleeping. It cost me only around $108 all-in, which I think is great price.

As with all things, the proof comes in the pudding, as they say, so the first thing I did was to plan a hike that would take me to a cold part of my area, partly to get away from the city, partly to try this new bag out.

I found it to be very roomy indeed, with plenty of space in it allowing you to move around…..I always need to shift myself around many times before I settle down to sleep….I know, it’s a bad habit that I grew up with and often results in little arguments between me and the wife, as she gets sick and tired of me moving around on the bed when she’s trying to sleep!

But back to the original problem of cold feet. This bag was the only one, aside of that old one that I threw away after many years service, which warms me up from head to toe…..no need for extra covers etc.

I slept like a little baby, all snug and sound, in temperatures down to around -10C, which for a light bag like this one is simply fab. What is it like to pack? Easy as pie, even though it is a little heavier than some bags. The zips are good and strong, and as a bonus, the bag doubles up as a comforter in warmer weather.

One little addition I found really handy…was that the zipper pulls glow in the dark…handy, eh?